


Perpetually the Winchesters

by longforthepast



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Book of the Damned, Demon Dean Winchester, Demon Sam Winchester, Fallen Castiel, Hell Flashbacks, Human Crowley, No Romance, Post Finale, Post Season 10, The Darkness - Freeform, The Winchesters broke the world, everyone working together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-01 17:44:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4028968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/longforthepast/pseuds/longforthepast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the darkness is released, Sam and Dean have more problems to deal with than usual. Rowena stole the Book of the Damned, they've got to throw the darkness back into where it came from and Dean's just getting really sick of the world breaking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Realization and Transformation

The darkness buffered the Impala, rolling the car along with it at the darkness ravaged the landscape. Ancient trees snapped like toothpicks in the wave of smoke and sand. Buildings and roads crumbled like a child's building blocks. Sam and Dean were thrown around the Impala while the darkness crammed itself down their throats. All around them was black. Dark, grainy, black. Swallowing the darkness was like swallowing sugar. Sam cried out for Dean, reaching to where he thought his brother was. His hand wrapped around Dean's shirt and he held onto Dean's arm like it was the last thing on earth. And for all Sam knew, it might have been. He felt Dean twist his arm so the Dean could grab Sam's jacket in a desperate attempt to anchor himself to reality. All around them was a sandstorm in the middle of the night. 

The Impala stopped rolling as the darkness rushed ahead, leaving the car on two wheels to complete one final roll, slamming down on the ground. Sam was rolled onto the floor of the backseat and Dean slumped in the driver’s seat unconscious. Grabbing onto the seats, Sam hoisted himself up and reached over the front seat to shake Dean awake. Sam felt like he was too deep in a pool and had his eyes open. In addition to the blurriness, everything had a yellow tint to it.   
“Dean, Dean c’mon man,” pleaded Sam, shaking his brother so that Dean’s head flopped to the other side. He groaned softly, which disguised Sam’s gasp of horror. There were small curved black horns growing from Dean’s hairline above his temples.   
“Sam could ya wait a minute, my head hurts,” Dean grumbled rubbing his face. He rubbed up into his hairline and felt the horns. In a moment of pure panic, he snapped his eyes open and looked at the rearview mirror. 

Rubbing the black sandy substance off the mirror, Dean observed his reflection. Black eyes and horns. He realized Sam had been calling his name repeatedly and turned to his brother. His eyes flared wider as he took in Sam’s appearance. His brother’s pupils and irises were a solid yellow that seemed to glow. Black horns growing from Sam’s hairline arched back over his head. Black leather like wings that filled the entire backseat protruded from Sam’s back.   
“Dean what’s wrong?” Sam asked, “You okay? Are you still Dean?” Dean nodded slowly and Sam sighed. “Then what’s wrong?”   
“Wings,” Dean gasped. Sam threw him a bitchface. “You have wings.” Sam furrowed his eyebrows and turned his head. Once he saw the wings, he suddenly became conscious of their presence and the wings began flailing wildly. Sam managed to slip down between the front seat and the back seat. Despite himself, Dean started to laugh. Sam, once getting the wings mostly under control, stepped out of the car and climbed into the passenger seat.  
“Okay, what happened?” Sam questioned. He looked at Dean, who was staring out the broken windshield with his hands folded in front of his nose and mouth as if he was praying. He shook his head silently.   
“I dunno Sam, I just, I don’t know anymore. Every year. Every freaking year something goes wrong. I just want a break,” Dean mused. He pulled his hands away from his face and looked to Sam.

The car was silent. Everything was silent. There was no wind, no birdsong, nothing. The darkness had taken everything away. The Impala was smashed, sides crushed in. Every window was broken and Sam doubted it would run.  
“So, where to?” Dean asked. He straightened up and looked to Sam.   
“Uh, we should probably go check on Cas,” Sam decided. Dean turned the keys in the ignition. The engine sputtered before buzzing to life. Sam gave Dean a look, wondering if the car would last to the warehouse.

 

“Alright, so where were you nerds hiding out?” Dean questioned.  
“Old warehouse about 20 minutes from the bunker, off route 281,” Sam replied. Dean nodded and hit the gas, the Impala stuttering out of the former wheat field and onto a beaten dirt road. The Impala lurched down the road for a solid twenty minutes before Dean took both hands off the wheel and climbed over the backseat.  
“Dean!” Sam exclaimed as he slid over to the driver’s seat. Dean’s tail, which he had just discovered, smacked the back of Sam’s head.  
“Chill dude, I’m still driving. Just not hands on. Did you see the AC/DC cassette while you were back here?” Dean responded casually.  
“How, how are you doing this?” Sam asked as he watched the steering wheel make minute adjustments to adapt to the road.  
“Telekinesis, I uh, still remember how to do this from last time,” Dean replied. He found the cassette he was looking for and crawled back over to the front seat. Sam scooched back to the passenger seat as Dean settled back in behind the wheel.   
“How much do you remember?”   
“Sam.”  
“Dean I’m just asking. I don’t want details or anything, I’m just curious.”  
“Everything. Alright? I remember everything.”

The roads were in horrible condition. Parts had caved in to create sink holes that you could drop the Empire State Building into while other parts had been heaved up creating mountains on the road. A trip that should have taken at most an hour, took a grueling, painful four. Mid way through the trip, thin leather wings ripped from Dean’s back. When the Impala reached the warehouse the brothers barreled in, Sam leading through the rooms. 

Cas was lying on the floor, blood around his eyes. In the exact pattern of the attack dog spell. Crowley was propped against a wall, looking at Cas with a mixture of horror and awe. Sam burst through the the door, which had a collapsed part of the ceiling blocking it, and sent up a plume of dust and residual darkness into the room.   
"Crowley? Where's Rowena?" Sam asked. Crowley looked at Sam in fear. He scooted away from the hunter as quickly as he could before Dean climbed through the door.   
"Oh bloody hell, just kill me now," he begged, knocking his head back against the wall.   
"Crowley, just answer the question," Sam replied.   
"She's gone. Sicced pretty boy on me and then left," Crowley explained. Cas was beginning to stir and Dean crouched beside the angel. As Cas lifted his head to look at Dean, Sam watched Dean’s face fall.   
“Dean are you alright?” Cas questioned as soon as he realized who was next to him.  
“Yeah, yeah I’m okay. What about you?” Dean responded. He had moved so he was just out of Cas’s line of sight. Cas turned his head to look at Dean.   
“You’re not Dean,” Cas stated grabbing the angel blade and holding it to Dean’s throat.  
“Cas wait!” Sam urged, “We can explain, at least what we know.” The angel looked the two brothers over. He paused at their eyes and then nodded. Crowley was trying to sneak out of the room. Sam threw his hand back and caught the demon in an invisible vice grip. Crowley was placed against the wall in the corner while Cas looked on in horror.   
“It turns out the Mark is actually an ancient lock and key for this stuff called the darkness. When Rowena removed the Mark, it unleashed the darkness. We tried to escape in the Impala but one of the tires got stuck in a pothole. When the darkness passed over us, the car rolled a lot and when we woke up we looked like this,” Sam explained. Cas glared at Sam, thoroughly unamused.  
“I do believe I warned you that there would be repercussions to using the Book of the Damned,” Cas deadpanned.   
“Speaking of which, where is the book?” Dean asked looking around.  
“The wicked bitch of the west took it,” Crowley called from his corner.  
“Rowena has it?” Dean asked.  
“Yes, that filthy whore took the book and the codex, then tried to have your angel bloody kill me!” Crowley continued.  
“Great, now we also have to find Rowena,” Sam added. Cas wiped the blood from around his eyes off, and pushed himself to a standing position.

“Gabriel told me stories of containing the darkness when I was young. He said that if it was ever unleashed, it would turn all who were exposed to it into their worst fear,” Cas explained looking himself over.  
“Great so Sam and I are obviously demons, what about you?” Dean deduced.  
“I don’t know, I’d assume I’ve fallen again,” Cas guessed looking himself over. His wings unfurled from behind him and one curled around which he began to inspect.   
“No, I don’t believe I’ve fallen,” Cas corrected. He failed to notice the brothers’ mouths hanging open as he maneuvered his wings. When he looked up at the brothers again, he realized what he had done and immediately tucked his wings away.  
“I’m sorry you had to see them,” cas apologized averting his gaze. Sam and Dean shared a look before Dean spoke.  
“Why would you be sorry? They’re awesome!” he exclaimed.  
“They’re blackened, and ugly,” Cas responded sharply.  
“No Cas, no, not at all,” Sam said. Crowley huffed and straightened himself up.   
“You should have seen them earlier, much different from what you’re describing earlier they were bones and a few feathers. Looks like you have full power back angel,” Crowley piped up.   
“That doesn’t make sense, that’s something I desired, why would the darkness restore my power?” Cas questioned.   
“I dunno, but I say we don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” Dean stated.   
“Yeah Cas, I mean you being at full power could help us with this,” Sam pointed out.   
“Last time the darkness was caged, it took the combined effort of four archangels and God to do it. I highly doubt we can put it back,” Cas explained.


	2. Never Wanted to See You Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The archangels find themselves on earth with a new mission that arouses mixed opinions.

When Gabriel awoke, the first thing he noticed was that his wings were no longer bound by Metatron’s spell. He shook them out, all eight. The room was dark. He saw the vague outline of a desk and some bookshelves. Standing up off the couch, he began to explore. There were piles of liquor bottles and old takeout containers all over the floor. The typewriter on the desk had a note folded on top of it.  
Tell your brothers that I’m sorry and that I made a mistake. Don’t look for me, go help the Winchesters. Also, Halvar is fine, you’ll find him at your apartment well cared for and safe.  
~Dad

Gabriel crumpled the note up and threw it against the wall. He heard a loud cry of joy from upstairs and flew to the origin. Standing in the center of the bedroom was Lucifer, in all his pre-fall glory. His dark red cloak draped down his back, passing right through Lucifer’s glowing white wings as if they weren’t there. Gabriel took a step back, drawing his sword. The golden blade mimicked the color of his wings perfectly. Lucifer turned around, the look of joy fading from his eyes as he saw Gabriel standing there, fully prepared to attack him.  
“Peace brother, I mean you no harm,” Lucifer promised rubbing his wings along the tops of Gabriel’s.  
“Mmhmm, just like you didn’t want to hurt me. I know you’re lying, I’m happy you’re back but you’re lying to me,” Gabriel responded. Michael came barreling into the room, his bronze wings glimmering like they were on fire.  
“Gabriel, please, don’t hurt him,” Michael begged stepping between the two. Raphael flew into the room, sword raised and silver wings flared in a sign of intimidation. She lunged at Lucifer, only to have her blade parried and disengaged by Michael.  
“Everyone stop. We can work this out. Does anyone know why we’re here?” Michael asked.  
“I got a note from Dad, he says that he’s sorry so I’m guessing he dropped us all here,” Gabriel piped up, sword still raised. Lucifer scoffed, flaring his own wings a bit. 

After they worked out what was going on, Gabriel retrieved the note to show his siblings what was going on.  
“Who’s Halvar?” Lucifer asked. Gabriel flushed deep scarlet before admitting that his dog was named Halvar. Raphael on the other hand was fuming in the corner and Michael was talking her out of a murder rampage.  
“No I will not help those insignificant mud monkeys!” She exclaimed. Lucifer and Michael shot her a warning look, reminding her that those “insignificant mud monkeys” were their vessels.  
“Sam and Dean are not going to be happy about this,” Lucifer commented rocking from his vessel’s heels to toes. Nick was back, and this time, he actually looked like he’d last more than six months.  
“You’re going to need to be a bit more specific. They’re not gonna be happy about a lot of stuff,” Gabriel responded as he tried to tap into angel radio.  
Has anyone heard from Castiel?  
What was that surge of Grace?  
The Winchesters broke the world again.  
Again?  
Are you even surprised?  
No! What did they do this time!  
The darkness. They unleashed the darkness.  
Gabriel swore and looked for a clock in alarm. Lucifer looked at him in confusion as Michael and Raphael looked up from their argument to look at Gabriel.  
“It’s three in the afternoon. What’s wrong?” Gabriel asked turning back to his siblings. The other three gave him blank looks.  
“Unless we’re in the arctic circle during the dark months and I don’t think we are, it should be at least kinda light out. That’s the darkness,” Gabriel explained pointing out the window. 

 

“I’m gonna go ahead and take the blame for this one, just because I had the key first and I decided to pass it off,” Lucifer voiced after a moment.  
“Actually, I think we can blame Sammich and Dean-o. They’re the hot topic at the moment,” Gabriel replied.  
“See! They always create the problems!” Raphael protested. Gabriel and Michael watched as Lucifer and Raphael bickered over whose fault it was.  
“Alright! I’d say we go ask the Winchesters whose fault it is, but they’ll just blame themselves so how bout instead of playing pass the blame around, we go out and do something about it?” Gabriel asked.  
“Where are they?” Raphael asked.  
“Lebanon, Kansas, not far from here,” Lucifer stated quickly. They all looked at eachother for a second before flying off as quickly as possible. Gabriel being the fastest landed first and only had time to say “crap” before everyone else arrived. Sam and Dean were looking back over their shoulders, while Cas stood in between them.  
“What the-” Dean started, his black eyes roaming over the group before Cas grabbed him and Sam, flying them out of there.  
“Did you see that?” Lucifer asked somewhat in awe. Gabriel nodded. Michael’s grace sent out waves of alternating confusion and anger while Raphael scoffed.  
“Good for noth-” she started before Lucifer turned around and clocked her under the jaw.  
“Don’t even think about it. It was the darkness and their worst nightmares,” Lucifer hissed.  
“Oh bollocks,” Crowley muttered from the corner of the room. Lucifer perked up and smiled before lifting the former demon up using his grace.  
“I’ll just go back to the crossroads,” Crowley gulped.  
“Oh no, you’re not being let off that easily,” Lucifer stated as he opened a portal to hell and threw Crowley into it.  
“Wasn’t that a little harsh?” Michael asked.  
“No, what’s happening later might be a little harsh,” Lucifer responded. Raphael looked at him in shock.  
“Not a word, they are not human in soul but they have the mind of a human still,” Michael stated.  
“You’re taking his side in this? What ever happened to heaven’s general?” Raphael scoffed. Immediately after, she flew off.  
“Hell, hell happened,” Michael muttered tracking down Castiel. 

Gabriel told Michael and Lucifer that he was going to go ahead and explain what was happening. The two eldest archangels nodded in agreement with the plan and Gabriel flew off. The bunker was sealed shut and Gabriel couldn't find the opening to the garage for the life of him. He banged on the door repeatedly until the view slot slipped open. Cas’s bright blue eyes met Gabriel’s amber eyes.  
“Gonna let me in little brother?” Gabriel teased. Cas looked around behind Gabriel.  
“Are you alone?” Cas responded. A crash sounded from within the bunker and Cas flinched.  
“Yeah, it’s just me. I need to talk to Sam and Dean,” Gabriel requested as Cas opened the door. A shout of anguish came from down a hall.  
“I wouldn’t advise trying to talk to Dean right now, he’s not taking everything well,” Cas cautioned, “Sam’s in the library though.” Cas walked down the hallway and Gabriel looked after him for a moment before walking in the direction Cas had pointed. Sam was sitting at the end of the table listening to a recording on some of the Men of Letters old records. He was leaning forward against the table, giving his wings space to stretch out.  
“You know, in theory, they should just pass right through stuff,” Gabriel commented as he dropped into the chair across from Sam. The hunter pulled the headphones off and asked Gabriel to repeat what he had said.  
“Your wings, they should pass right through the back of the chair if you want to sit back,” Gabriel repeated. Sam looked at him and sat back, the wings passing through the chair just like Gabriel predicted. The archangel threw his hands up in a small sign of success.  
“No one else is here, I mean they’re not here, right?” Sam asked.  
“Nah, you’re good. We do want to help you though. Well, Mikey, Luce and I do. Raphael flew off to dad knows where,” Gabriel commented. Sam smiled and looked up at Gabriel. The archangel had seen a lot of disturbing things. Seeing Sam’s soul corrupted and his eyes glowing yellow took the cake though. 

“We probably should have warned you guys before popping in,” Gabriel apologized. Sam smiled and nodded.  
“So, what do we have to do to beat this stuff?” Sam asked. Dean stormed into the room followed by Castiel trying to calm Dean down.  
“No Cas, I will not relax. I’m a demon. Again! For the second time in a year!” Dean raged.  
“Physically yes, you are a demon, but you are pretty obviously human to me!” Cas exclaimed grabbing Dean’s shoulder.  
“I know Cas. I’m just pissed about how we have the worst luck. I mean, the apocalypse, leviathans, purgatory, the Mark! There are thousands of hunters, how the hell are we stuck with this crap?” Dean exclaimed.  
“If you blame me, I’m just pushing the blame up another level to dad,” Gabriel commented. Dean looked at him in shock.  
“Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” Dean said.  
“Aren’t you?” Gabriel quipped. 

Gabriel explained what was going on to everyone there. He talked about the darkness and what he knew about it. He spoke of how they would need all four archangels’ help. He complained about Raphael and how she was going to make this harder than it needed to be. By the time Gabriel was ready to ask the brothers if it was okay to bring Michael and Lucifer in, there was a small collection of beer bottles on the table in Dean’s attempt to get drunk.  
“Listen, I know neither of you are big fans of my brothers, but they really want to help you,” Gabriel promised. Dean looked to Sam who nodded.  
“Alright, they can come,” Dean stated. Gabriel’s eyes lit up with joy and within seconds, there was a knocking at the bunker door. Gabriel popped up and flew to the door which he opened to reveal a very disheveled Michael and Lucifer.  
“What happened to you?” Gabriel asked.  
“Evidently, we can’t fly into this place without being invited a previous time,” Michael stated as he stepped inside. Sam and Dean were standing in the library, looking up at the balcony. Lucifer sort of waved at Sam while Michael acknowledged Dean with a cold nod. Cas watched the archangels with an emotionless gaze that didn't waver.  
"Nice to see you too Castiel," Lucifer commented as he walked down the stairs. Gabriel sighed and leaned over the balcony railing, ready to interfere if anything happened. Michael followed Lucifer down the stairs and approached Dean. The hunter backed up a step as the archangel met his gaze.  
“I apologize for what has happened in the past, I have been informed of what you’ve done while I was imprisoned. You are a better being than I have ever been,” Michael admitted. Gabriel’s eyes blew wide.  
“Um, thanks,” Dean responded. Sam on the other hand was staring Lucifer down. Lucifer was the first to look away. The archangel was laughing softly and when he looked back to meet Sam’s eyes, he was smiling sympathetically.  
“What’s so funny?” Sam asked.  
“That you have no idea what’s going on. Michael don’t tell him. Sam, think about it for a second,” Lucifer suggested a slightly insane glimmer in his eye. Sam looked at him in confusion for a moment before realization came over his face. Lucifer nodded his head yes every time Sam said no as fast as he could.  
“The boyking Sam Winchester, I never thought I would see the day, and honestly, I was not planning on this, Azazel just got very liberal in his methods,” Lucifer explained. 

“I believe we can save this discussion for another time,” Michael commented, “We need to find Raphael, and the Book of the Damned.”  
“Rowena has the book, if we find her, we find it,” Cas said.  
“Who?” Lucifer asked.  
“She’s Crowley’s mother and a witch,” Sam explained.  
“I’ll look for Raphael,” Michael stated.  
“I’ll look for her, you get heaven back in order,” Gabriel responded.  
“I can send some demons out looking for Rowena, they’re irritating but they work well with incentive,” Lucifer promised. The three archangels disappeared. Sam exhaled deeply before Lucifer popped in and grabbed him and Dean by the shoulders.  
“We’re going to scare hell into shape and you two get to help,” he explained before flying off with the two Winchesters.


	3. White Suits are Douchey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hell has changed, and Lucifer doesn't like it.

Upon arrival in hell, Lucifer led Sam and Dean off to a small room with a large map that was constantly shifting sitting on a large oak table. The paper was old and weathered and the painted brown lines appeared and disappeared seemingly at random. On the left, there were ten lines, each with a count of numbers. Some going up more rapidly than others, but the final one was at a constant number of zero. Next to each counter was a word written in Latin. Lucifer rolled it up with a wave of his hand and jumped into a rolling chair, sending it rolling across the marble floor.   
“So, we’re holding an assembly later today and we’re basically going to scare the general populous and announce that Crowley is ‘dead’,” Lucifer decided as he pulled a large book from one of the bookshelves lining the room.   
“Where is he though?” Dean asked.  
“Locked up, I’ll deal with him later,” Lucifer admitted throwing the book on the table.   
“What exactly are we doing though, I mean I get that we’re gonna scare hell but I dunno what’s going on,” Sam stated. Lucifer pushed off the wall, bending his legs and sending the chair with him in it scattering across the floor.  
“You two just need to look scary, not hard to do for either of you. Sam with you being the boy king, I’m the only one who has more authority than you, and Dean, you’re a knight and I’m pretty sure hell is still scared of you,” Lucifer admitted as he spun around and pushed off the opposite wall. Dean’s tail snapped back forth irritably.  
“Can you be any more vague?” Dean said. Lucifer looked over to him mid push off of the wall.   
“You want specifics, alright, you are going to sit on stage slightly behind me and to the left,” Lucifer stated pointing to Dean, “and Sam, you’re going to do the same thing to my right. Is that specific enough?” Dean nodded. “Alright, I need to go do some stuff, stay in here, explore, I don’t really care.” Lucifer disappeared from the room leaving Sam and Dean alone.

“So what should we do?” Sam asked Dean after a minute of silence. Dean was still staring at the wall. He sighed softly and began laughing under his breath.  
“You okay?” Sam questioned.  
“Is anything okay anymore?” Dean responded turning to look at Sam.  
“Not really, but hey, we’re both alive,” Sam admitted. A flutter of wings filled the room and Cas landed. He stumbled and braced himself against a table and looked to Dean and Sam. The brothers rushed forward to support the angel and help him to a chair.  
“Cas buddy you okay?” Dean asked.  
“I’ll be fine, are you okay?” Cas responded.  
“Yeah we’re fine, Cas what happened?” Sam asked. Cas groaned.  
“I’m fine, Rowena’s spell must have had more of an effect than I thought it did,” Cas admitted. Dean nodded and pulled up a chair. Cas’s wings were loosely folded and the tips of his primaries dusted the ground. The rooms lighting was far from good, but now that Cas wasn’t constantly moving his wings, the brothers got a better look at them. The primaries and secondaries were ebony and reflected light off them, giving them the appearance of an oil slick. Cas’s coverts were also black but were speckled with silver, giving clue to the original color of his wings. The feathers lining the inside of his wings were a dark blue that shimmered with speckles of silver.   
“Where were you?” Dean asked.  
“I just left the bunker. You forget that time runs differently down here,” Cas quipped. Dean rubbed his hand along his jaw and leaned back in the chair. 

“I’m gonna go look around, either of you wanna come?” Sam asked. Dean stood up and Cas followed slowly. As they left the room, Sam took the lead with Dean and Cas following close behind. Demons in the halls ducked into rooms as the trio walked around. Occasionally one would be caught unaware and teleport out of the way. The hall they were walking down opened into a large chamber made of black stone. Lucifer was standing at the end, his wings illuminating the entire room. He turned around as a large chunk of the obsidian stone materialized.   
“Glad you all decided to join me,” Lucifer commented his eyes falling to Castiel, “Oh Castiel, this is not good.” Lucifer stepped away from what appeared to be a throne that kept constructing itself. He approached Castiel and the two seemed to communicate silently before Lucifer placed his hands gently against the sides of Castiel’s head. Lucifer furrowed his brows in concentration. Sam and Dean shifted uncomfortably. Lucifer gasped softly and drew back from Castiel.  
“I’ve never seen this before, it feels familiar, but I can’t identify it. Once Raphael is found, ask her,” Lucifer advised.   
“I don’t believe Raphael wishes to see me,” Castiel admitted, “During our last encounter I blew her up.” Lucifer looked at Cas in awe for a moment.   
“Alright then,” Lucifer commented and went back to redesigning the room, “The assembly is in an hour in here, I suggest you get fitted for your suits.” He gestured vaguely to a door as he began to continue to construct the room. Sam and Dean grabbed Castiel and helped him to walk into the room. 

Immediately, Cas was shoved down in a chair and Sam and Dean were separated. Cas tried to get up but a demon put a hand against his chest.  
“Sit down hot wings. You’re not involved in this,” the demon ordered. The demon walked behind the curtain where they had taken Dean. Cas sat anxiously, waiting for one of the brothers to come out. Shortly, Dean was shoved out in battle armor that closely resembled that of a seraph, instead of that of a demon. The chestplate was decorated with carvings of Dean facing off against monsters and of his entire story. An empty scabbard hung at his waist and the obsidian armor reflected the little light in the room.   
“What do ya think?” Dean asked. Cas nodded approvingly and watched as Sam walked out from behind his curtain. His armor seemed to be made of large scales as the sleeves and a gleaming silver metal as his chest plate. The brothers were quickly ushered behind the curtains again. 

Once again, Dean was pushed out from behind the curtains first in an expensive navy suit. Cas stood up abruptly as the demon from before grabbed him, yanked off his trenchcoat and replaced it with a black one. In addition, the demon tied a black tie around his neck.   
“Better,” the demon commented and teleported out of the room. Sam was shoved out of the dressing room next all color drained from Dean’s face.   
“Aw c’mon, white, really?” Dean questioned. He turned to look at Cas. The angel looked at him curiously while Sam watched his brother with mild concern.   
“Dean what’s wrong with white?” Sam asked.  
“First of all, white suits are douchey,” Dean responded, “second of all, ugh just, it’s nothing. Just a memory.” 

A short while later, Lucifer came into the room, saying that it was time for the assembly. He showed Sam and Dean where to sit on the stage and told them to sit still and look intimidating. Slowly, demons filtered into the room. Once the doors closed, the room was packed so full of demons that all Sam could see was millions of ebony eyes staring at him. Whispers flew around the room as Lucifer sauntered to center stage. He cleared his throat and stretched his wings out.  
“Alright everyone! Crowley’s dead, and I’m back in charge. Any objections?” Lucifer announced.  
“Yeah! Why are the Winchesters here?” One demon in the back shouted. Others took up the question and soon the room was filled with demons clamoring for answers. Lucifer looked back to Sam and motioned for him to stand up. 

When Sam stood up and walked through the center of the stage, the demons began taunting Sam and jeering at him. Dean began to get up but Lucifer pinned him to the chair. He glared back at Dean and shook his head slightly. Sam swallowed hard and shifted his weight.   
“You guys have anything to say?” Sam said. The room was silent. Sam held his arms open in invitation. “You seemed pretty eager to say something a minute ago, what’s wrong? Are you scared of me, or him?” Sam pointed to Dean at the end. Dean stood up and walked up next to his brother. The air in the room became so tense, it could have been cut with a butter knife. 

The assembly wrapped up with an order from Lucifer to obey any order Sam or Dean gave unless a conflicting order came from him and him alone. The doors at the back opened and the crowd flooded out. Lucifer sank down on the throne he had constructed on the stage and sighed.   
“I just can’t anymore with them, honestly when this whole Darkness ordeal is over, I’m getting rid of the whole lot of them,” Lucifer groaned. He stood up from the throne and began walking behind the throne. He motioned for the brothers to follow. Sam hesitated for a moment before walking quickly after the archangel. Dean walked with Sam, his tail twitching nervously. A door appeared where there hadn’t been one before and Lucifer lead them through it.   
“You can go anywhere in hell that you want, I’d recommend using these tunnels though, you’ll have an easier time getting around. Given that Ariath told me that you were also fitted for armor, you’re also going to need new weapons. The armory is open to you, feel free to grab what you need at any time. If nothing in there works for you, I’ll convince Michael to get you something custom made. Heaven’s smiths are better than anything hell’s got,” Lucifer explained. The tunnels were dark, the only light coming from Lucifer’s wings and even that light only expanded a few meters in diameter. 

Lucifer pushed a door open and red light flooded the corridor. The room was stocked with different swords and spears of different lengths, materials and weights. Dean’s eyes lit up and he rushed in and immediately began examining the different swords. Lucifer and Sam watched as he lifted various swords and tested their weight.  
“Has he always had a weapon obsession?” Lucifer asked. Sam nodded solemnly.  
“When we first moved into the bunker, he cut himself on a Scimitar because he didn’t think it would be sharp,” Sam explained. Dean lifted a heavy black broadsword and tested it experimentally. During one of his lunges, Dean continued the momentum forward due to the weight of the sword. Needless to say, Dean put the sword back and picked up a Claymore with an elaborate hilt and balanced it before swinging it.   
“You gonna grab something?” Lucifer asked.   
Sam shook his head, “Maybe later, I’m gonna start trying to find Rowena.” Lucifer nodded and looked down the corridor.   
“The library’s all yours if you need it,” Lucifer promised.  
“Thanks,” Sam commented, “but I think I’ll start in the bunker though.” Lucifer wished him luck before flying off. Dean emerged from the room with the Claymore in hand. Sam explained what he was going to do and Dean teleported them back to the bunker. Still in the suits, they collapsed at the bunker table.   
“Hey Dean” Sam said. Dean mumbled in response. “You’re gonna need to teach me how to do this stuff.”   
“Eh, I’ll do it later,” Dean groaned as Sam got up to start looking for documents. Chuckling as he grabbed a tome, Sam finally began to process what was going on. He and Dean were demons, all the archangels were alive and free, Rowena had the Book of the Damned, and the world was ending. Then again, he was used to the world ending.


	4. The Stairway to Heaven is Out of Order

Raphael stood at the edge of the cliffs overhanging the Pacific ocean, watching the Darkness roll and boil as it raced across the waves. Gabriel flew in and landed beside her, causing the elder archangel to look over slightly. Gabriel opened his mouth then closed it. He looked away as Raphael looked to him. Raphael looked straight ahead as Gabriel turned to look at her. This continued for several more times each before Gabriel tapped Raphael on the shoulder.  
“I’m still it,” Gabriel smiled, “No tag backs.” When Raphael looked over to Gabriel, her vessel’s face was blank but her grace was irritated.  
“How is it that you can keep up a millennium long game of tag but you can’t remember where you left your armor?” Raphael questioned. Gabriel turned and looked at Raphael.  
“I know where it is, I just don’t have use for it right now,” Gabriel retorted. He crossed his arm and shifted his weight to one leg. Raphael raised her eyebrow. “Alright, maybe I lost track of it a little bit. But it’s in Norway somewhere!”   
“You may want to find it before Michael wages war against Lucifer,” Raphael advised.   
“Are you serious? Are you actually serious?” Gabriel questioned disbelievingly. He backed up a step in disgust. “Isn’t it obvious they dropped the issue?”  
“Michael seems not to trust Lucifer. Why would he have forgiven him?” Raphael questioned.  
“Kali tried to kill me. I’m going to forgive her for it when I see her again. That doesn’t mean I’m going to trust her with any weapons that could actually kill me!” Gabriel explained, “Forgiving her means I accepted that she did it. Trusting her would mean that I’d be able to give her my actual sword without worrying about her trying to kill me.”   
“Kali, the pagan?” Raphael asked incredulously.  
“She’s an old friend,” Gabriel explained.

“Michael has forgiven Lucifer, I have not. What do you suggest I do?” Raphael asked.   
“Are you asking me advice?” Gabriel asked. Raphael nodded. “Give it time, that’s what humans do.” Raphael scoffed. “We’re really not better than them. Well, in some ways we are but humans have free will. And they have the capacity to forgive, something most angels have trouble with.” 

“Michael probably needs help,” Raphael commented changing the subject, “Heaven, was not in good shape when I left.” Raphael flew off and Gabriel sighed. Snapping his wings sharply, he followed Raphael to heaven’s gate where she was conversing with Michael.  
“What do you mean they’re locked?” Raphael asked indignantly.  
“The gates are locked, and I cannot open them,” Michael explained.   
“Commander? Healer? Is it you?” a small angel asked from the other side of the gates.   
“Yes Prentum, it is us,” Michael responded, “Why are the gates shut?”  
“Metatron shut them after he cast us all out. There is a gateway at a playground in Illinois. Other than that, we have no access,” Prentum explained. He looked sadly at the ground and rubbed the lock gently.   
“Eh, we’ll open it,” Gabriel finally spoke up. Michael turned to him as if to say “how”. Gabriel promised him that it would work out. The three archangels then flew off to Illinois where two angels sat at the playground guarding the sandbox.

The angels looked up quickly and stood up, dropping into a quick bow. Michael ordered them to stand up.  
“Commander, Healer, Messenger, are you well?” The angel using the mother as a vessel asked. Michael took a moment to identify her.  
“We are fine Ezra, and you?” he responded.  
“Dahlia and I are well. Do you need to enter heaven?” Ezra responded.   
“We do, with the intention to return order to heaven,” Raphael stated.  
“Heaven is in order, Hannah has it running the smoothest since father left. No offence Commander,” Dahlia replied. Seeing an angel using such a young child as a vessel disturbed Gabriel deeply after having so little interaction with his family for so long. His brows furrowed for a moment before he snapped his fingers in realization.  
“Hannah, she worked under Muriel for a while right? How is she?” Gabriel questioned.  
“Busy, but otherwise she is well,” Daliah explained as she began drawing the sigil in the sandbox. The overlapping circles slowly began to form the pattern, and Daliah drew it with practiced ease. As the sigil was completed, Daliah and Ezra stepped back and allowed the three archangels to enter. 

“Woah, what happened here?” Gabriel asked as he examined the pristine white walls and spotless white flooring, “What happened to the little pockets with barriers in between? I liked those!”   
“I don’t know, this happened after my death,” Raphael stated. Three pairs of footfalls echoed ominously through the halls. A low ranking secretary ran through a hall running perpendicular to the one Michael, Raphael and Gabriel were walking in. The angel paused and retraced his steps. Upon seeing the three archangels his eyes lit up with delight. He bowed respectfully until Michael told him to rise.  
“Where is Hannah?” he asked. The secretary thought for a moment.  
“Hall 7, room 77, she’s likely there,” the secretary replied. Michael thanked the secretary who took off on his run down the hall and Michael began running in the direction the secretary had come from.   
“Why are we running?” Raphael asked.  
“I’m sick of being bowed to,” Michael said through clenched teeth. Gabriel increased his pace and pulled ahead of Michael and Raphael.   
“Okay, this is hallway six, so seven should be,” Gabriel mumbled as he turned around, “Right here!” He took off running again as Michael and Raphael rushed to keep up.   
“Why must he be so fast?” Raphael contemplated.  
“He is the Messenger, it is how he was made,” Michael responded. Gabriel slid to a stop in front of door 77 and used his wings to regain his balance. Raphael looked at Michael questionly.  
“Not being able to stop gracefully does not negate being fast,” Michael said. Gabriel turned the knob of the door and burst in. Hannah sat at the desk one hand in her curly black hair and the other holding a stack of papers.  
“Rahmiel, I have told you once, I have told you a thousand times, knock,” Hannah muttered without looking up.  
“I dunno, I think we outrank a Cherub,” Gabriel said cheerily. Hannah looked up in shock and immediately stood up. Michael and Raphael entered the room.  
“Commander, Healer, Messenger, it’s wonderful that you’ve all returned,” Hannah smiled, “Everything is in order, most angels have returned and heaven is operating smoothly. If you need anything, I’m more than happy to help.” Michael held up a hand.   
“You seem to have this under control. Raphael will remain here to help with anything you need. Do you know how to open the gates?” Michael questioned. Hannah sighed and shook her head.  
“Metatron was the one who shut them. He’d know but he’s on earth hiding. A prophet might know but Crowley killed all the next generation prophets off and Kevin Tran died at Gadreel’s hands,” Hannah explained. Raphael huffed at the mention of Gadreel.   
“Thank you Hannah,” Michael responded. He and Gabriel left to reach the gates from the inside.

From the inside, the gates were not nearly as elaborate as they were outside. Outside, they appeared gilded and meticulously carved. On the inside, they we made of the same substance as the rest of heaven. Pure white energy circulated through the gates, and there was a dark blue seal holding them shut. Metatron’s mark was burnt into the seal. Michael knelt down in front of it and placed both hands of the mark. His brow furrowed in concentration.  
“Gabriel, help me please,” he requested and Gabriel put his hands on the seal as well. They poured their graces into the seal but it refused to budge.   
“It can’t be broken using grace. I can use some of the old pagan magic, but it’ll take a while,” Gabriel stated. Michael grimaced and sighed.  
“If it needs to be done, so be it. I’ll return to Earth and look for Metatron. Contact me if anything changes,” Michael ordered. Gabriel nodded and walked back to the portal with Michael in silence. The two of them left heaven. As soon as they were on earth, Gabriel flew off and Michael appeared outside the bunker. He knocked on the door and Dean answered.

“You don’t have to knock, it’s usually unlocked if one of us is here,” the hunter grumbled.   
“I apologize, I know that you don’t trust me and felt that if I entered unannounced, it wouldn’t be beneficial to building your trust,” Michael explained. Dean sighed and rolled his eyes. Sam was sitting at the main table with his eyes glued to a large tome. Dean sat down across from him and Michael stood awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs.   
“So uh, what’s the situation upstairs?” Dean asked.  
“Hannah has heaven organized and Raphael has stayed there to help. Gabriel believes he can break the seal Metatron has put on the gates,” Michael stated, “I need to find Metatron as soon as possible. He has crimes to pay for.” Lucifer flew into the room quickly and hopped into the seat next to Sam.   
“Bad news, none of the demons want to go look for Rowena and neither do any of the hellhounds,” he said, “I don’t know what she did to scare them this badly, but we’re stuck looking on our own.” 

“Okay, I need a list of what we have to do and how important it is,” Sam suggested. He pulled a legal pad out from under the book and flipped to a clean page. Skipping several lines at a time he wrote “Darkness, Rowena, Metatron”   
“So, what’s first priority?” Dean asked.   
“Rowena,” Michael stated, “If she has the Book of the Dammed like you claim, she could wreak havoc on the world.”  
“More than what the Darkness will do?” Lucifer asked.  
“The Darkness will try to take a human form, until it does that, it is not a priority,” Michael replied. Everyone at the table nodded as Sam scribbled down the new information. Dean walked to the kitchen and came back with a six pack that he set down on the table. Sam and Dean each grabbed a beer which they nursed while the discussion flew around the table.


	5. Gods, Witches, and Dogs Oh My!

Gabriel strolled through Asgard’s golden arches while the Aesir stared at him. He rounded a corner and found Sif holding a sword at neck level. Gabriel leaned back and pushed the sword to the side with two fingers.  
“Morning Sif,” he chirped cheerily, “need something?” He crossed his arms and leaned up against the building.  
“Your head would be wonderful,” Sif replied swinging the sword clumsily. Gabriel ducked and twisted Sif’s wrist until she dropped the sword. He bent over and picked it up, slipping it into a pocket of no-space.  
“There’s a line for that. Now where’s Sedir?” Gabriel responded.   
“Where she always is,” Sif responded, “Why did you kill Baldur and Odin?” Gabriel’s jaw dropped and he stopped walking away.  
“Who told you that? I-I didn’t kill them, I was trying to save them,” Gabriel gasped out in shock.   
“Kali told us, if you didn’t kill them who did?” Sif asked.  
“Lucifer did, then he killed me,” Gabriel explained. Sif frowned and furrowed her brows but Gabriel flew off before she could question him further. He landed outside Sedir’s cave and walked in slowly.  
“Archangel, you’ve changed,” the old mage said as Gabriel sat down cross legged next to her.  
“You haven’t at all Sedir,” Gabriel replied. She smiled softly at Gabriel who returned the smile.  
“You never come unless you need something. What are you looking for?” Sedir asked. Gabriel picked up a stick and began drawing Metatron’s seal in the dirt, not fully closing all the circles to make any power it had void.  
“I need to know how to open gates sealed with this. Michael and I tried pouring our grace into it but it didn’t do anything,” Gabriel explained. Sedir rocked back and she ran a hand through her matted blonde hair.   
“This is a symbol I am not familiar with, but I believe that if given time, I can help you,” Sedir contemplated. Gabriel broke into a grin and inclined his head respectfully to Sedir.  
“Why do you still bow to me Messenger? You and I both know you wield more power and I should be the one bowing to you,” Sedir asked.  
“I respect you Sedir, and always will,” Gabriel responded flying off to the bunker.

He landed in the library next to Dean. The hunter yelped and dropped the bottle he was holding, smashing it on the floor.   
“I think I prefer Michael knocking every time he shows up,” Dean grumbled. He pushed the broken pieces of the bottle under a bookshelf and made the remaining liquid evaporate.  
“Dean, I heard a crash. You good?” Sam called as he jogged up the steps from the archives below. He carried a large box stuffed with files and a large journal balanced on top. He sat it down at the end of the table. Dean strode over, turning his head to read the label on the box.  
“Witches?” Dean asked.  
“We need to find Rowena. I know you hate witches and I know you hate research but we’re going to have to help me here. This is the first box,” Sam explained  
“Out of how many?” Dean asked. The blood rushed from his face and fear crept into his eyes.  
“There’s fifty boxes in the first room and I haven’t looked in the second,” Sam admitted. Gabriel’s mouth dropped open and Dean began cursing under his breath before he plopped down at the table and opened the journal.   
“These people were way too neat,” Dean groaned observing the perfectly written directory. Every line started and ended at the edge of each page, every lowercase letter was the same size, every uppercase letter was double the size of the lowercase letters.   
“At least it’s easy to read,” Sam commented. Dean began flipping through the journal.   
“How much did they collect on witches! I mean seriously,” Dean groaned, “So what do we need?” Gabriel slipped into the chair next to them.  
“Well, summoning a witch, or cutting off their power would be the best but just how to stop one would be great,” Sam huffed.  
“You know, every other time we’ve dealt with witches, it hasn’t ended well,” Dean commented and started skimming the pages of the journal. The pages were yellowed and brittle so Dean had to be careful when turning the pages. Gabriel slid into the seat across from him and pulled out a file, flipped through it and replaced it.   
“Well since you two are demons, we could technically bind her to you and then cut off her power so she’d be easier to take in,” Gabriel suggested. Sam paused in his digging through the file box and looked toward Dean.  
“Can we do that?” he questioned. Dean shrugged and continued looking through the journal.  
“I mean, it’s possible. I just don’t know how,” Dean clarified raising his eyes to meet Sam’s. Gabriel reached across the table and pulled the journal to him. Skimming through it quickly, he stopped on a page almost at the back cover.   
“Box 47 has all the information on witch-demon relationships,” Gabriel stated. Sam repacked the first box and walked back down to the archives only to return with box 47 a minute later. As he shoved it on the table, Gabriel ripped the top off and pulled out the first file. Dean grabbed another and Sam slid into a chair and pulled another out. They sat in silence, going through the files. At one point, Castiel walked in with the groceries he got on his food run, put them down on the table and silently joined in the research. 

When Dean finally found information on binding, his initial feeling of triumph faded to frustration. The men of letters had only found information on how to identify the demon a witch was bound with. If the demon was summoned and killed, all the power was transferred to the witch, causing them to no longer have the need for a demon to support them.  
“Think this is what happened to Rowena?” Sam asked as Dean relayed the information.  
“Makes sense, she was kicked out of some Grand Coven thing so I guess she would be less powerful if she wasn’t unbound?” Dean responded.   
“Guys, better idea!” Gabriel ennounced suddenly. He looked down at the file in front of him. “I’m gonna steal the Book of the Damned.”  
“Okay Nicholas Cage,” Dean responded, “How are you gonna do that?”   
“Actually, I’m not going to, you guys get to figure that out, I have other work to do,” Gabriel smiled before disappearing to Dean’s frustrated shouts. 

When Gabriel landed in his penthouse, Halvar came sprinting up to Gabriel as fast as the terrier’s little legs could carry him. Gabriel bent down, swooped the dog up and held him in his arms. He took the excited greeting with a tightly sealed mouth and closed eyes. Halvar’s tiny tongue licked every square inch of Gabriel’s face clean until Gabriel finally pulled him off.   
“Who’s been taking care of you little man? I didn’t exactly leave for a day!” Gabriel questioned setting Halvar back on the ground.   
“You’re welcome. I know how much he means to you,” Kali stated as she opened the front door. Gabriel stepped back and prepared to fly away. Kali held up her hands, showing that she meant no harm. “I was just coming to take care of him. I never expected you back.” Gabriel scoffed and hooked his thumbs in his back pockets.   
“Yeah, I didn’t expect to be back either,” he replied. Halvar ran up to Kali and jumped at her suit pants until she picked him up. 

“Can you keep him for a while?” Gabriel asked.   
“Why?” Kali asked as Halvar began squirming around. She put him down as Gabriel thought of what to tell her.  
“I need to help with a war, and I want him to be safe,” Gabriel stated, “And you of course! I want you to be safe too!” Kali put on a bored expression at Gabriel’s afterthought. “Please Kali, he’ll try to protect you and you can protect him. The last time I faced this thing, I hadn’t even left heaven yet. Kali, please, keep yourself and Halvar safe.”

After a moment of silence Kali agreed and scooped up the tiny dog, carrying him out the door.  
“Kali wait!” Gabriel exclaimed at the last second, “After this is all over, do you want to go out to dinner? Not as a date, just as friends.”   
“Dinner sounds lovely. I’d love to see your taste buds handle what I have in mind,” Kali responded as she stepped into the elevator in the hall. Gabriel scoffed as he walked over to the bar. He rarely used it, and when he did he was hiding stuff in empty bottles. Pulling a vintage bottle of Smirnoff of the top shelf he uncorked it and pulled out the map. 

Gabriel’s wings carried him to Iceland as quickly as possible. The fog was thick in the circle of rune stones. He walked up to the one with the name “Loki” carved into it and began circling it, looking for the rune he needed. As he found it, a bit of his grace seeped into it, causing the stone to split in half. The blinding white light from within made Gabriel grin with glee. He scooped up the contents and raced back to the gateway in Illinois. Heaven may be running, but Michael wasn’t going to get all the angels battle ready fast enough on his own.


End file.
